'Holy grail of all finds': Ottawa boy finds gun while magnet fishing in creek
A 12-year-old Ottawa boy is sharing his story after a magnet fishing trip turned up an unexpected find.
For Nathan Sirois, magnet fishing is a favourite pastime. Tie a strong magnet to the end of a rope and away you go, looking for a big catch.
Cans, washers and other small items are among some of his most common finds. But last week at the Green’s Creek Bridge, Nathan found something he never had before.
"As we pulled it up, it seemed like a riffle or a gun or something," he said.
"For any magnet fisher it's absolutely the holy grail of all finds," added Nathan’s mom, Melanie Baron.
The gun is their biggest find yet.
"I was so excited, my heart was beating so fast," said Nathan.
But like at times with a fish, this catch didn’t make it ashore.
"Maybe about right here, I tried to help my mom, but it fell back in the water, it's really unfortunate," Nathan said.
However, Nathan and his mom knew what to do and called police. The Ottawa Police dive team returned days later to search for the weapon.
"For me, this was a first, where a member of the public called it in, our dive team has searched for other weapons and pieces of evidence, but this is definitely a first where someone was magnet fishing and come across something," said Const. Caroline Gallant of the Ottawa Police Service Marine, Dive and Trails unit.
Const. Gallant was the one who recovered the gun after about 20 minutes in the water and said she’s thankful Nathan and his mom called it in.
"You can't see anything in there, I couldn't even see my hand. So we definitely don't want anyone going in there recovering the things they find," she said.
While Nathan and his mom may feel they lost their biggest catch yet, they assisted police in an important recovery.
"You want to teach your children and teach everybody if you do see something like that, take the time to report it,” said Baron.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Friday that Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
More than half the Canadians once detained in Syrian camps for suspected ISIS family members have returned home
A total of 29 Canadians have been freed from detention camps in northeast Syria and brought back to Canada since human rights advocates began lobbying for their release years ago.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.
Amish youth experience a rite of passage called Rumspringa. It’s not what you might think
The idea of “Rumspringa” has a specific spot in the American imagination. A rite of passage for young people in some Amish communities, Rumspringa is seen by most outsiders as a wild time away from strict Amish rules, when teenagers can experiment with the modern vices of the world.